FREEDOM OF THE PRESS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF PANCASILA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE PROTECTION OF JOURNALISTS’ HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDONESIA

Abstract

Freedom of the press is a fundamental pillar of a democratic ecosystem that serves as an instrument for public social control; however, the exercise of media independence in Indonesia currently faces multi-layered threats, such as physical violence, cyber repression, and judicial criminalization through ambiguous legal provisions. This study aims to critically examine the model for protecting journalists’ human rights in Indonesia as they carry out their professional duties, employing Pancasila values as the primary analytical perspective and parameter, integrated with Social Responsibility Theory to analyze the reciprocal relationship between media freedom and the press’s moral obligations toward the public. The research method used is descriptive qualitative with a literature review design, analyzing normative legal documents, prior scientific research, and contemporary reports on cases of violence against the press. The results indicate that the framework for press freedom from the perspective of Pancasila emphasizes a functional balance rooted in three main pillars: the Second Principle, which underscores the necessity of comprehensive security guarantees to protect the human dignity of journalists from physical threats and digital harassment such as doxing; the Fourth Principle, which positions press independence as a core prerequisite for popular sovereignty to prevent chilling effects; and the Fifth Principle, which demands distributive legal justice through the consistent enforcement of the Press Law as a lex specialis principle and a layered remedies approach that treats criminal law strictly as an ultimum remedium